Ishant Sharma talks about how Jasprit Bumrah helped him improve his “knuckle ball.” “He told me I have great length, but I need to work on a slow seam delivery,” he says.

Ishant Sharma is having a great comeback in the IPL 2023. He has taken ten wickets for Delhi Capitals in eight matches, with an average of 20.60 and an economy of 8.24. The 34-year-old was also named Player of the Match in match 28 against the Kolkata Knight Riders. His four-over run of 2/19 helped DC limit KKR to 127, which led to a four-wicket win.

Over the years, Ishant Sharma has changed to meet the needs of the game and picked up a few new tricks. Everyone has been amazed by his knuckle ball so far this season. Recently, he talked about how Jasprit Bumrah’s tips from 2018 helped him improve his delivery.

“During the 2018 Melbourne Test, I asked Jasprit Bumrah what he thought of my bowling in T20s. He said I have great length, but I need to work on a slow seam release that would trick a batter. So I worked on throwing the knuckleball after that,” Ishant Sharma said in the DC show.

During match 44 of the current IPL season, Ishant Sharma outsmarted Vijay Shankar and knocked down his stumps. Harsha Bhogle said that the way the speech was given was so good that he was watching it over and over again. The right-handed seamer had a great four overs, getting 2 for 23 and helping his team win by five runs.

Sharma also talked about his time away from the game in 2022, when he wasn’t bought at the IPL auction. He said that his love and desire for the game drove him to train hard during that time.

I haven’t given myself any goals. Ishant Sharma

“Right now, I’m having fun with cricket. I don’t have any goals for myself, and I don’t have anything to lose. Last year, when I wasn’t sold, my wife asked me to think about why I started playing cricket in the first place. Then, I trained really hard because I loved the game so much. I’ve also worked with a fast bowling coach, and we talked about what I could do better,” Sharma said.

After not being bought at the IPL 2022 mega sale, Sharma was bought by Delhi Capitals for INR 50 Lakh at a December 2022 mini-auction. Even though he was good with the ball, the seamer from Delhi couldn’t save his team from a terrible season. With 10 points from 13 games, Delhi are last on the points table and tenth overall. The David Warner-led team will play their final game against the Chennai Super Kings on Saturday, May 20, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.